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About public hearings
The Royal Commission conducted eight weeks of public hearings, which commenced on 17 May 2021 and concluded on 9 July 2021. You can read transcripts of the public hearings here.
Following the public hearings, Counsel Assisting the Commission provided closing submissions on 20 July 2021. Parties filed their written submissions on 2 August 2021 and responsive submissions by parties with leave were heard on 3 August 2021. You can read the submissions .
The schedule of public hearing topics and witnesses who attended (in order of appearance) is available below.
The Commission conducted a number of closed hearings. During closed hearings only certain people approved by the Commissioner were able to attend. The content of the closed hearings is redacted from the relevant transcripts and recordings.
Public hearing schedule
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Topics
- Matters related to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation as the regulator of Crown Casino, and its investigation of the arrests in China.
- Junket operations.
Witnesses
- Timothy Bryant, Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation - appeared 17 May
- Jason Cremona, Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation - appeared 18 May
- Murray Lawson, Deloitte - appeared 20 May
- Nick Stokes, Crown Resorts Limited - appeared 20 and 21 May
- Casino employees (closed hearings) - appeared 20 and 21 May
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Topics
- Anti-money laundering and counter- terrorism financing compliance measures.
Witnesses
- Katherine Shamai, Grant Thornton Australia - appeared 24 May
- Neil Jeans, Initialism - appeared 25 May and 26 May
- Lisa Dobbin, Deloitte - appeared 26 May
- Alexander Carmichael, Promontory Financial Group (closed hearing) - appeared 27 May
- Casino employees (closed hearings) - appeared 27 May
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Topic
- Responsible service of gaming: a central requirement imposed upon the licensee by the Casino Control Act 1991 and Crown's licence.
Witnesses
- Sonja Bauer, Group General Manager Responsible Gaming, Crown Melbourne Limited - appeared 1 June, 2 June and 3 June
- Dr Sarah MacLean, Associate Professor, Social Work and Social Policy, La Trobe University - appeared 4 June
- Shane Peter Lucas, Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation - appeared 4 June
- Nicolas Emery, Chief Marketing Officer, Crown Resorts Limited - appeared 4 June
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Topic 1
- Continued hearing on the responsible service of gaming: a central requirement imposed upon the licensee by the Casino Control Act 1991 and Crown's licence.
Witnesses
- Mark Mackay, Executive General Manager, Gaming, Crown Melbourne Limited - appeared 7 June
- Peter Lawrence, General Manger VIP Customer Service, Crown Melbourne Limited - appeared 8 June
- Rosa Billi, Branch Head for Research and Evaluation, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation - appeared 8 June
- Manorani Guy, President, Victorian Working Group on International Student Employability, VicWISE - appeared 8 June
Topic 2
- Crown’s risk management and culture reviews.
Witnesses
- Cara Hartnett, Partner, Risk Advisory, Deloitte - appeared 9 June
- Victoria Whitaker, Partner, Risk Advisory, Deloitte - appeared 9 June
- Anne Siegers, Chief Risk Officer, Crown Resorts Limited - appeared 9 June and 10 June
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- Closed hearing with a witness from Victoria Police.
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Topics
Responsible service of gaming, junkets, tax and money laundering.
Witnesses
- Mark Mackay, Executive General Manager, Gaming, Crown Melbourne Limited (recalled) - appeared 21 June
- Sonja Bauer, Group General Manager Responsible Gaming, Crown Melbourne Limited (recalled) - appeared 21 June
- Nigel Morrison, Non-Executive Director, Crown Resorts Limited - appeared 22 June
- Andrew Maher, Partner, Allens Linkaters (closed hearing) - appeared 22 June
- Casino employees (closed hearings)
- Security Officer 1 and Security Officer 2 - appeared 24 June
- Craig Walsh, Executive Director Security and Surveillance, Crown Melbourne Limited - appeared 25 June
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Topics
- Tax, credit card usage, money laundering and responsible service of gaming.
Witnesses
- Michelle Fielding, Group Executive General Manager, Regulatory and Compliance, Crown Resorts Limited - appeared 28 June
- Richard Murphy, Partner, Minter Ellison (closed hearing) - appeared 29 June
- Steven Blackburn, Chief Compliance and Financial Crimes Officer, Crown Resorts Limited - appeared 1 July
- Jan Williamson, Senior Legal Counsel, Crown Resorts Limited (closed hearing) - appeared 2 July
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Topics
- Senior Management and Board of Directors evidence regarding Crown’s reform program, and issues that have arisen throughout the Commission hearings.
Witnesses
Due to Covid-19 restrictions a number of witnesses attended virtual hearings via video link.
- Xavier Walsh, Chief Executive Officer – Crown Melbourne, Crown Resorts Limited - appeared 5 July 2021
- Nick Weeks, Executive General Manager, Transformation and Regulatory Response, Crown Resorts Limited (virtual hearing) - appeared 6 July
- Steve McCann, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Crown Resorts Limited - appeared 6 July
- Alan McGregor, Chief Financial Officer and Interim Company Secretary, Crown Resorts Limited - appeared 6 July
- Jane Halton, Non Executive Director, Crown Resorts Limited, Chair of Crown Sydney Gaming Pty Ltd (virtual hearing) - appeared 7 July
- Antonia Korsanos, Non Executive Director, Crown Resorts Limited, Chair of Crown Melbourne Limited (virtual hearing) - appeared 7 July
- Helen Coonan, Executive Chairman, Crown Resorts Limited (virtual hearing) - appeared 8 July
- Robyn McKern, Partner, McGrathNicol - appeared 9 July
- Elizabeth Arzadon, Managing Director, Kiel Advisory Group (virtual hearing) - appeared 9 July
Reviewed 10 September 2021